


The Spirits Speak But The Dead Are Silent

by Arielthehedgehog99



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood, Character Death, Complete, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-16 08:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8094484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arielthehedgehog99/pseuds/Arielthehedgehog99
Summary: In a mansion, left on an abandoned island, spirits unable to reach the light or darkness live. They will reside here until some mortal is able to release them from their chains and let them reach the light/dark. 
Four stupid or brave, just depends on what you think, mortals enter this cursed mansion and are in for more than they thought. 
Their life is in the hands of the spirits...





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first writings and I'm editing along the way so I'm very sorry... I'll try to keep you entertained! 
> 
> I'd appreciate any feedback I can get on how to make this story better. Thanks so much!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [Blue "Oliver" Karou](http://schemendreamer.deviantart.com/),[Flash "Faith" Flitzer](https://www.wattpad.com/user/FlashDUH), KodaSoda, [Dash Weathers (sonic_comic)](https://www.wattpad.com/user/sonic_comic) and [Gade Emerald](https://www.wattpad.com/user/GadeTheFlameHedgie) for letting me use their respective OCs.

The Spirits Speak...  
The Dead Are Silent...

* * *

~Koda's POV~  
The mansion was HUGE!!! I swear, from a distance it looked quite small. Well, as small as a manion can be anyway. Oh, who even cares any more. Most people just say, "Wow, that's a big house!" Wait... what are we talking about again?  


My gang stood in front of the huge, solid oak double doors. Slowly, Red knocked on them. His body is moving so slowly and he's shaking. I wonder if he's scared. The doors only made a creepy sound, then a creak.  


Swish!!!  


The doors swung open and narrowly grazed my face. Just like that, they were open. I heard the boys say something behind me, but I payed it no mind. I just waltzed right into the mansion. I'm not going to be one to let the boys beat me. Once inside I screamed at the top of my lungs "HELLO!!!!! ANYONE THERE!!!!!" The boys behind me started panicking and telling me to quiet down. I'm not going to quite down. They can't tell me what to do. Oh well...  


_Honestly, they are such babies! I mean, they should be braver than little old me!_

* * *

~Faith's POV~  


I cannot believe it!!! There are mortals in this mansion. I absolutely despise them. They should all die, just like I did... Honestly, it's been years since anyone has stepped foot into this mannor. The last person who came here never made it out. I wonder what possessed these stupid mortals to enter?  


Why are they even here? What the heck do they want with us? Well, that doesn't matter. My job is to keep them out by any means. Even if that means I have to kill...  


My job is to protect my family. It always has been my job and always will be my job. That means, I will stop at nothing to protect the other spirits. They have become my family. They mean the world to me.  


_I don't like them here... I don't like them here at all... They are the cause of my death... I will be the cause of theirs!_

* * *

~Gade's POV~  


Here it is, the famous mansion. Supposedly, this mansion houses some of the spirits who are unable to move on as they have ‘unfinished business’. Honestly, I'm not even sure I want to go inside... I'm mean, I'm only here to see if the spirit of one of my loves resides inside this building. I do hope is is...  


After we entered the mansion, I got a good look at the interior. It was a large Victorian style mansion. A large, dimly lit chandelier hung from the ceiling and dusty red drapes covered the windows. Old carpet lined the floor and dust clung to every object in sight. The walls were peeling and a stained yellow color. There were old chairs and tables in the entrance along with what looked like paintings covered by cloth to preserve their colors.  


As Koda screamed with excitement and Red trembled in fear, my thoughts returned to my loved one. I missed her dearly and I loved her with all my heart. My brain then jumped to my two companions. Red looks scared, as if he doesn’t want to be here. Koda is jumping with excitement, obviously the one to drag poor Red to this manor. Are Koda and Red a couple?  


_I just wonder... Is the love of my life, really here? Can I see her again? And will the nightmares disappear?_

* * *

~Oliver's POV~  


Faith had said there were mortals inside the mansion so I went to see what they looked like. I turned invisible and walked/flew down to the main entrance. Much to my surprise, I saw a face I thought I would never see again. That short messy green hair and brilliant ruby red eyes, it had to be him.  
My love...  


He walked into the mansion with two other unknown mortals. Both of which I felt like I knew, but from where I don’t know. I wondered what he and the others were doing in this mansion. Maybe he was here looking for for me. But then again, how did he know I was here?  


_Is that Gade..? Well, I don't even know... He took my heart, and tore it out… Maybe, just maybe, I can tell him how much I love him, one more time..._

* * *

~Dash's POV~  


I stood there... I didn't know what to do... I mean, what would you do if you were in my position?  


Faith was screaming about the intruders saying things like ‘They deserve to die!’ and ‘Let me at them! Let me kill them!’ Seriously, she needs to get a hobby, or at least some counseling. Actually, everyone in this mansion could use some counseling.  


Oliver seams to be in her own world. She looked like a lovestruck puppy. She had litteral hearts and stars in her eyes and was whispering something to herself. I could only make out one word and I think it was ‘Gabe?’ or maybe ‘Gage’ or maybe even ‘Glue’? I really don’t know because she can be really confusing sometimes.  


Amelia was laughing happily as she swung from the chandelier. I really hope she doesn't fall. She’s so sweet and innocent. It’s really hard to imagine that she has ‘unfinished business’. Unlike most of us, she knows who her killer is. I wonder why she’s still here and not in the light where she belongs. Talia was acting all tsundere again... Well, nothing new there... She needs to get a boyfriend or something. Maybe even a friend. Honestly, I think that’s all she needs, a good friend.  


And Ariel is hiding in the corner... Poor Ariel, she's always so scared...  


_People need to take a chill pill... Wow, I just realized, I'm surrounded by idiots, but... They're my idiots. My loveable idiots._

* * *

~Ariel's POV~  


Look, mortals...  


I saw sitting in a room with Faith, who was screaming, Oliver, who was in her own world, Talia, who was chuckling to herself, and Dash who was face palming. I think Amelia is still by the chandelier...  


I was hiding in the corner. I didn't want there mortals to hurt me… I’m already broken… Broken... Honesty, I know I'm scared, but I know how to be strong too. As they walk in, my mind wanders to the mysteries surrounding this mansion in general… I’ve been here, trapped. Trapped for a long time…  


_I wonder... Why are they here... Even I don't know... I wish I did... Maybe, just maybe, they'll break the spell placed over us..._


	2. Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [Amelia](amelia-badelia.deviantart.com/),[Talia Prower](talianna-chan.deviantart.com) and RedDevil for letting me use their OCs.

On an abandoned island, there lay a mansion. Withered away with time, the haunted building sat and waited for people to visit its empty rooms. This mansion, like other abandoned mansions, has claimed the lives of many mortals who have dared to enter its cursed halls. Death to all who enter the forbidden rooms… 

The mystery surrounding the mansion is one that has yet to be uncovered. Many people believe and spread strange rumors of this place. In recent years, people have come to document this mysterious mansion, yet all who have gone, have never returned. All that has remained of these people are the small amount of their research that have washed ashore… 

_However, this mansion was to meet with four more adventurers...  
_

* * *

Kodalinn “Koda” Soda, Red Devil, and Gade Emerald made their way by wooden boat to this foreboding island. All knew and heard the stories, rumors and secrets told by joval story and hushed whispers alike. 

Koda was excited, her medium, messy green hair and was bouncing up and down with her body. She tugged on the strings of her loose fitting purple hoodie and then messed with her cream cargo pants. Then she excitedly tapped her purple shoe against the deck of the poorly made boat. Her ‘Kodaling Adventurers’ were ready to go. She was enthralled, not only of the mystery, but also of the terror, not that she’d admit the latter. 

_She was more than excited…_

The same was not said for poor Red. He was sea sick from being on the boat and would have probably thrown up if it weren't for his dignity. He didn't even want to be on this voyage but alas, he wasn’t one to turn down his girlfriend. His short brown hair fell over his eyes as another wave of nausea hit him once again. He sighed before sitting up as best he could and straightening his red shirt and dark gray jacket. His dark gray pants were wrinkled and hastily tucked them into his brown cargo boots. His father, the devil, had warned him of the dangers of vengeful spirits. He feared that this mansion was full of them.

_And that they would take away his soul…_

The last member of the little group was Gade. Gade sighed as he watched the other two member of his party from his position in the small boat. Gade had a love/hate relationship with some members of the group but had agreed to join nonetheless. His short green hair was pushed out of his eyes. He fiddled mindlessly with his white fingerless gloves leaving his green jacket, dark blue pants and red/golden shoes alone.

Gade had lost someone important to him and had received mysterious ‘dreams’ with directions to this mansion. The ‘dreams’ had said that if he were to reach this mansion, he would reach his dead lover.

_All he wanted to do, was see her once again...  
_

* * *

The small group's rickety boat traveled up and down due to the waves. Back and forth and back and forth the boat rocked. It would be slightly calming if it weren't for the feeling of excitement and terror that mixed through the group. Well, mostly terror for the boys.

"I cannot wait for this adventure! I've heard the house is extremely haunted and that no one who has ever gone, has ever returned!" Koda said, her purple eyes shining with anticipation, “All that’s ever returned are bits and pieces of them or what they wrote about!” Her grin matched only by the Cheshire Cat. She gave another cheer of enthusiasm and then pumped her fists in the air.

"I'm not too sure about it Koda... I've heard there are ghosts, and that some of the ghosts are very aggressive." Red whispered, his voice shaking as the words came out though he tried to calm appear calm. “They could try to hurt us… I mean, just the signs that no one has returned should be a huge red flag!” Red said a bit louder, though terror could be heard in his voice.

"What do you think Gade? You've been offaly quiet this whole time." Koda turned and asked the green haired human.

Gade looked up before saying, "I've heard all sorts of things about this mansion, so I don't know what to completely believe. A lot of speculation is written here and I guess we won’t know the truth until we are there for ourselves.” Under his breath he whispered, "Plus, I'm looking for something special..." 

Neither of the other two heard his last sentence and they continued to speak with each other effectively shutting Gade out of the conversation. Suddenly, Koda cried out as she pointed to something in the distance, "Hey guys look!!! You can see the mansion from here!"

Both males turned their heads and looked to where the excited girl was pointing. Sure enough, there was the mansion. The island in lay upon was surrounded by an eerie fog/mist. After a few more minutes, most of which consisted of the group trying to land their water vesile, the boat was docked, tied to a tree, items were collected off of the boat and the three set foot upon the island.

The island was, in a traditional haunted fashion, covered in a dense mist-like fog. A small forest surrounded the old manor, and the group made their way towards the haunted spot. The forest wasn’t large but contained looming trees, overgrown vines and plant life that had obviously taken over everything in its path.

After hacking through forest with a small knife, the mansion came into view. The decaying building was covered in ivy that lined the old, cracked stone walls. The pillars in front had seen better days as weather had worn them down, however they still appeared to hold strong. The garden was no better, there was an abundance of weeds and overgrown plants. However, there were small patches of beautiful flowers that looked as if someone had specifically cared for them. Strange… 

Koda walked up to the old oak door and took up the brass knocker in her hand. She noted that the wood’s furnishing was long gone yet the wood still looked intact and held up to the elements. She turned back to the boys and game them a thumbs up. Then she knocked on the door causing the boys behind her to panic. She looked back and laughed, "Don't be scared you little girls."

Both boys looked away at her comment, obviously trying to deny her words. Koda only laughed as she pushed the doors to the mansion. No movement, nothing at all. She then tried pulling the doors open. Still nothing, nothing. Koda frowned before turned around to face the embarrassed, blushing boys. As she was about to open her mouth a sound was heard from behind her.

Creak… 

The door was now magically open even though it had been shut tight moments ago. Koda payed it no mind, blowing it off as part of the old building. The boys behind her did not. Red was terrified in the fact that the door had opened by itself and instantly attributed the feat to the work of spirits. 

As Koda stepped inside, she noticed the place was covered in a layer of dust; she was sure no one had been here in a long while. Both boys were now visibly sweating as they stepped inside. Though, neither would admit to the fearless girl in front of them that they were scared. 

And the door shut behind them...  


* * *

Inside the manor, the six ghosts sensed the arriving presence of mortals. Some of the ghosts, mainly Faith Flitzer, were angry upon seeing more mortals. Other ghosts, such as Amelia Angel, we're excited to see mortals and saw them as a playmate. Then there were other ghosts, such as Ariel Arashi, who did not care if there were mortals.

However, there was one thing all the ghosts had in common. They had all left the mortal world, and these mortals had just crossed into their world.

The rapping at the door was a rude awakening to the present. The six ghosts: Faith Flitzer, Amelia Angel, Dash Weathers, Talianna Prower, Oliver Karou and Ariel Arashi all looked up upon hearing the sound. All of the ghosts vanished at that point; all of them going to do different things with the people who entered their world.

_It was time to play…  
_

* * *

Koda's smile could not be contained. She beamed as she looked at the inside of the haunted mansion. Suddenly, she heard a shriek. Koda turned to look behind her to see Red gripping onto Gade for dear life.

Koda laughed as Gade face-palmed, "Come on you guys! We came here for a reason, and that reason was not to be scared by the stupid door."

The group ventured into the foyer. Two large staircases lead up to a balcony and double doors on top. Beneath the stairs, another set of double doors. Above, a large, beautiful chandelier hung. Windows covered in what use to be red velvet drapes now covered the glass; sheets covered what the group could only assume to be old furniture.

_Suddenly... There was light emanating from different things in the room... The ghosts had appeared..._


	3. The Ghosts

Honestly, I expected more from these pathetic mortals." Faith snarled, staring at the humans whom had entered. 

Talia growled, "I agree. These weaklings will be absolutely no fun to 'play' with!" The other ghosts just looked at them and shook their heads.

"I think they look nice. Do you think they'll play with us?" Amelia asked. Faith and Talia shot the young girl a glare which caused her to cower back in fear.

"Please don't scare her. What did she ever do to you." Dash said, defending the cowering girl. Flash only rolled her eyes and Talia scoffed. 

All four then turned to the other two in their group. The other two just remained silent.

The six ghosts dispersed around the room as the mortals continue to look around the room. On a count of three, all the ghosts let off light to show their presence in the room with the mortals.

* * *

Koda wasn't scared when light started emanating from random parts of the room. She was more like, surprised. That's what she told herself anyway. She heard a shriek behind her. Actually, it was more like two shrieks. Two very, very feminine shrieks and squeals.

Red and Gade were gripping onto each other, panicking in terror. Both supposedly ‘brave males’ cowered in terror at the light.

When the light faded, six ghosts could be seen in the room with the three humans. All looked human enough yet held a soft blue color to them. While none of them were see through, it was obvious they weren’t tangale.

"Hello! I'm Koda," Koda smiled warmly towards the spirits, "and those two over there shaking in terror are Red and Gade." She pointed to each of them accordingly, her smile never faulting.

The ghost, standing atop the balcony, loomed down at them. "Why are you here?" she called, her voice powerful and strong. The ghost has short, messy brown hair and multicolored, green and blue, eyes. She wore a long, black tailcoat, red tie and black top hat. She seemed very powerful and carried herself as such.

"I'm here to explore this place!" Koda replied. Then she did a double take and asked, "Hey, who are you?"

The ghost looked at her before asking, "Why do you need to know stupid mortal?" Her multicolored eyes pierced the dry, dusty air as she stared at Koda.

"Hey, Faith..." a timid voice whispered.

Koda whirled around from the one named Faith to see two ghosts behind them; one was sitting in a chair and the other on her lap. The one on the chair was a young woman with short, curly red hair and pretty blue eyes. She wore a light blue sweater and white skirt which she seemed to be nervously tugging at. The ghost also had a white ribbon in her hair as well as small white flats. The ghost sitting in her lap was a young girl who had short black hair and a red streak and ruby red eyes. She wore white sweater, grey pants and small grey shoes. She also had a bandage that covered her left eye.

“What do you want Oliver? Faith asked the red haired female.

Koda sighed and shook her head, "How many of there are you?"

"Six!" a cheerful voiced cited from above.

Up on the grand chandelier there was a young female ghost hanging from it. She had long, neon pink-purple hair and emerald eyes. She also wore a white sundress with a pretty pink floral print.

The ghost at the balcony, Faith, gave an angry sigh.

"Listen everyone." Faith said, her voice silencing everyone. She sighed, pleased with the short silence. "You may look around this manor mortals, however, you may not venture to the third floor or the basement down bellow. Breaking these rules will end in your death." Faith said before all six of the ghosts disappeared.

* * *

Koda breathed out a sigh of relief. Surely she thought she was a goner. Koda smiled before turning around and smiling at the boys. 

"So, how are we doing back here?" she smirked, fully knowing the answer.

"Horrible... I think we should leave. You saw the inside, so let's go!" Red cried, his voice rising and panicking as he spoke.

Gade was looking to where the female in the chair, Oliver, had sat. "Maybe... Just maybe..." Gade whispered to himself.

"Hey, Gade! You okay?" Koda asked, waving her hands in front of his face. Gade's glassy eyes snapped back to reality.

"Oh, ya...I'm fine." he said a bit startled.

* * *

The group explored the mansion's first and second floor, not bothering to touch the third or basement as instructed. However, as the group investigated the rooms, more questions arose. Why were there ghosts here? Why hadn't these spirits moved on? And more importantly, what was on the third floor and in the basement. 

The most questions arose when they entered the dust, cobweb filled library. After looking around, Gade found a book that was written by another person who'd stepped into the mansion. The account detailed some of the ghosts, the manor, and most importantly, the forbidden areas.

Koda, being the rebel girl she was, made up her mind. She would go down to the basement. Red and Gade begged her not to go, but she insisted and left the two standing outside the basement door.

_Nothing, not even those stupid ghosts would stop her curiosity._

* * *

The basement was dark, damp and cold. Cracked stone lined the walls as well as dungeon-like cells, complete with rusty chains and… Is that a skeleton!?

Koda, while not completely regretting coming down, was getting a little freaked out. The air was just getting more and more scary. She continued to walk down the hall checking every cell and chamber for anything she could find.

Eventually, she came upon a cell with a small bed. The bed was made and stained with dried blood. There was also a small desk at the other side of the cell. On the small desk was a notebook, pen and candle. The candle was burning, like someone had been their recently.

Koda frowned as she loosely thumbed through the small notebook, not finding anything noteworthy or interesting.

And at that moment, the candle went out and a light appeared behind her. Koda started to sweat and internally panic. “Oh no…” Koda whispered under breath.

Faith’s voice could be heard screaming, "I told you not to come down here!"

Koda screamed at the top of her lungs, and out of the small cell and backed into wall. What was in front of her was Faith. Well, kind of…

Instead of the normal looking ghost she had seen hours before, the ghost was oozing blood from the area around her head and neck. Faith’s eyes glowed a menacing green and blue.

"You just couldn't help yourself could you?! You just had to come down here! Now, I guess I'll have to kill you! Say goodnight!!!" Faith said as she pulled out an old European styled sword.

With the flick of her wrist, the sword came crashing down towards Koda. Koda, being agile and limber, had just enough time to dodge the blow before sprinting up the stairs.

_"That's it... We'll get you!!!" Faith cried, before Koda screamed again and shut the basement door..._

* * *

_Whist this happened, the boys were having a ‘bonding moment’..._

"So, why did you come here?" Gade asked his red colored companion.

Red sighed before saying, "Koda asked me to come with her. She said it would be fun. Honestly, I'm worried... This place isn't to nice."

"I see..." Gade mused before disappearing into a trance once again.

"Hey, what about you Gade?" Red asked.

Gade broke from his trance and sighed, "I came here to look for someone... Someone special..." Red looked at Gade, confused.

Silence once again took over. That's when they heard it, Koda's scream.

"Koda! Are you okay? What's going on?" Red cried into the darkness below. Gade, while he said nothing, looked on in worry.

Suddenly, Koda screamed again and her form could be seen running, no, sprinting for dear life up the rickety wooden steps. Once she emerged at the top, she quickly slammed  the basement door shut and jumped into Red's arms, crying hysterically. 

"Shh. Shh. Are you okay Koda?" Red asked.

Koda could only sob before whispered, "We need to get out of here... They... They're coming... Coming to kill us..."

* * *

"AHHH!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY WENT THERE!!!" Faith cried. The other ghosts watched her as she screamed.

"You know, everyone goes there or upstairs..." Amelia whispered before Faith glared at her.

“Not helping Amelia!” Faith spat back as Amelia recoiled. Dash then hugged Amelia as a means to comfort her.

Talia looked up at Faith, "Does that mean we can start killing them?"

Faith’s lips curled into a small smile, "Yes... Yes it does!" With that, she and Talia disappeared.

Dash sighed before offering to take Amelia to her favorite place, the chandelier. Amelia accepted and the two disappeared as well. 

Ariel looked up at Oliver. "What you you think of them..." Ariel's small, soft voice asked.

_Oliver looked down at her and said, "I think they can... Maybe... Just maybe..."_


	4. Send to the Light... What???

Koda ran to the front door and shook it violently. "LET ME OUT!!! LET ME OUT!!! I DON’T WANNA DIE HERE!!!" Koda cried, banging on the door. Her arms hitting the wood to no avail as she sunk to the ground.

Red panicked, "I told you we shouldn't have come in here! They are fallen spirits! They are angered easily. Why don’t you ever listen to what I tell you?!”

“You’re not making me feel any better…” Koda turned to him, tears in her eyes, "Wait, you know what these are? What the hell are they?" 

"Ya I know what they are. They are fallen spirits.” Red said.

“Fallen what now???” Koda asked looking genuinely confused as if she hadn’t marathoned horror movies to prepare for this adventure. 

“People who died with darkness in their hearts, unfinished business, or of extreme pain. How they died affects how they are in their spirit life." Red explained while rolling his eyes as if he believed this knowledge to be common; with the knowledge that Koda had watched a ton of horror movies.

“So… How do we escape them?” Gade asked. Both turned to the male who had been silent the whole time.

“When did you get here?” they both asked as one. Gade just shrugged and both Koda and he turned to Red for the aforementioned question’s answer. 

“Free them.” Red stated plainly. 

"So, you're saying that the only way to escape is to free them? How do we do that?" Koda sniffled, still feeling the effects of her previous encounter. She got off the floor and dusted her purple hoodie off. 

"Easy," Gade smiled as he pieced everything together, "We go find how they died and save their souls, right?”

“Close enough. Now we have to figure out where to start… And how to keep the ghosts from getting to us.” Red reasoned.

“Keeping the ghosts away will be a challenge. We don’t have anything to ward them off.” Gade said to the pondering group.

“We could go to the library.” Koda suggested. 

“Why the library?” Red asked Koda giving her a strange look.

"There are seals on all of the doors. That means the spirits cannot get in, right?" Koda asked, “Plus, we may be able to find something useful while we’re there. We can make it like our home base!” she smiled.

"Ya, to the library." Red replied as the group sprinted as fast as they could to the library.

* * *

 

When the group arrived, they started looking for clues to save themselves from the ghosts/send them to the light. Each member took up a different section of the large library and looked for anything they could. All of them found journals of past people and brought them to a table in the center. 

A journal about a person’s adventure. Meh, nothing interesting. A journal about the person. No information there. A journal about the mansion. The drawn map will be helpful but everything else is just useless. A journal about how to survive the zombie apocalypse. Koda believed it would help them in the future but as of right now, no help at all. 

As they continued their search, Koda found something interesting. "Hey, look. It's a girl’s doll." Koda said to herself as she picked up the doll tucked in the corner of the library. It was old, dirty, clothes ripped and smudged with dirt, hair tangled and colors fading, yet it was still intact. She pocketed it and brought it back to the table with the books.

“Look what I found guys.” Koda said as she put the doll on the table.

“Wow, that looks really old. I wonder if it belonged to someone who entered the mansion and died.” Gade said as he gazed at the dirty doll.

“I guess we’ll never know.” Koda laughed as the two went back to searching. 

They continued to search until, "I found something!" Red cried in joy. 

"What is it?" the other two asked.

"It's a journal of another person who was here.” Red said with glee.

“Ya, so? We have a ton of those already on the table. What makes that one so special?” Koda asked as she rolled her eyes. 

“It has notes on three of the six ghosts." Red said as they gathered around to take a look at it.

The first page had a sketch of a young girl along with the name Amelia. She had long wavy hair and was wearing a small, floral dress. On the other side of the page was a sketch of a doll that matched the doll Koda had found earlier. Koda recognized the girl as the same girl from the chandelier. 

"Hey, this doll must belong to the little girl, Amelia." Koda said, "We should go return it to her." Red and Gade continued looking at the girl in the notebook as Koda planned out how to give the doll to the girl without being caught by the violent ghosts.

"Hey, look at this. It says here that all of these spirits have two forms. The form of life and the form of death. Red explain, NOW!." Gade snapped towards the brown haired male.  

Red sighed before plainly stating, "The form of life is how they looked in their life. The form of death is how they looked when they died. So ripped clothes with blood and guts.”

Koda gasped. "I saw that! That mean ghost, Faith I think. She had blood and guts when I went to the basement, but not when we first saw her is the entrance. Does them mean that when the spirits are on different floors their appearance changes?" Koda asked. 

"Probably." Red replied. "I guess the next step is to identify where these ghosts are without running into the violent ones.

"We can help you with that..." a voice said as the three mortals jumped and cried out in surprise.

* * *

 

Faith grumbled as she and Talia collected their weapons to go human hunting. "You know... I really don't want to kill them, yet I do... I feel so weird on the inside." Faith said. Talia only shrugged as she sharpened her knives. Faith sighed as she sharpened her sword glancing at Talia. 

"Talia, do you ever think we'll reach the light?" Faith asked. 

Talia only shrugged again, "Who knows? I really couldn’t care. As long as I get a kill, I'll be happy..." Faith sighed again and Talia gave a wicked grin. Then the door opened and Dash’s blue hair could be seen.

“Hey, do you know where Oliver and Ariel are?” she asked.

“How would I know, I’m not their babysitter.” Talia replied curtly.

“No, I don’t know where they are. Maybe try their rooms again.” Faith replied as Dash thanked them and shut the room

Dash continued wandering down the halls. Where had Ariel and Oliver gone? She knew Faith and Talia were preparing for the hunt and Amelia was enjoying her time on the chandelier. So, where the heck were Oliver and Ariel? She then thought about the mortals. There was someone different about them... Dash had the feeling, some of her companion would be going to the light, very soon...

* * *

 

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!" the three mortals cried in terror. "I THOUGHT SPIRITS COULDN'T GET IN HERE RED!!!" Koda cried in panic. "SAME HERE!!!" Red screamed back.

The ghosts soft laughter cut the air, confusing the three and stopping them from screaming in terror.  "The seals on the door only prevent the aggressive spirits from getting in." the ghost smiled, "I'm Oliver and this is Ariel." Ariel blinked and looked at three with her one good eye, then looked away. Oliver softly laughed again then said, "Listen, if you are truly going to help us get to the light, we'll help you. But, you still have to be careful."

"Okay, do you know where we can find Amelia?" Koda asked.

"Atop the chandelier in the entrance." Oliver said.

“Really? Why there?” Koda asked.

“I have no idea. I guess it’s her favorite spot. The chandelier is like a big, bright, beautiful swing. I suppose it’s fun. I’ve never tried it so I wouldn’t know for sure.” Oliver responded calmly, though she looked to be pondering the idea of swinging on the chandelier herself.

"Thanks, I'll go see her to return the doll and you boys stay here." Koda smiled before dashing out the door with the small doll in hand.

"I hope she'll be okay..." Ariel whispered.

* * *

 

Koda ran down to the entrance to see the ghost and chandelier swinging back and forth almost playfully. If it went for the fact that it was a giant chandelier, Koda would have joined as well. However, the fear of death kept hr rooted to the floor. She took a deep breath before calling to her.

"Amelia, I have something to ask you." Koda said. The chandelier slowly stopped swinging and an off-casting blue figure flew down to the front of her. 

"Yes?" the girl, Amelia, asked. 

“Do you want to play a game?” Koda asked the pink haired girl.

Amelia’s face lit up like a beacon and she started jumping up and down. “Yes! I’d love to play a game with you. That sounds like so much fun! What game are we playing?” she asked quickly, voice filled to the brim with excitement. 

“Hide and Seek.” Koda responded.

Amelia thought for a moment. “What’s this all about?” she asked, quite skeptical.

Koda smiled, “All you have to do is find me on either the first or second floor. Then you get a prize, no strings attached. I have a present to give you, but I want to play a game aw well.”

“Okay, sound like fun. Start hiding! 1… 2… 3…” Amelia smiled, covered her eyes and started counting.

Koda took off running to find her place to hide.


	5. Hide, Seek, and Family

“Where to hide… Where to hide…” Koda mumbled to herself as she ran down the hall of the second floor. She had already searched the first floor for a hiding spot but no luck. Now the timer was ticking down. She needed a hiding spot and fast. 

She opened another door to find another bedroom. This bedroom had a closet big enough for her to fit herself into. “That’s the best idea I’ve got… Don’t have anywhere better to go...” Koda whispered to herself as she walked towards the furnature. She squeezed herself into the closet and shut the door. A small amount of light from the crack illuminated the closet. Well, illuminated it enough for her to see some of the objects in the closet with her.

Instead of clothes like she expected to see, she saw lots of journals and diaries. Koda sighed before picking one up. “Well, I guess I can look through these while I’m waiting.” she sighed before opening the book and beginning to read. “How many people were here to make all of these journals?” she whispered to no one in particular, “Honestly, I’d probably die reading these before the ghosts could come and kill me.” Koda chuckled quietly to herself before starting her arduous task.

* * *

 

“98… 99… 100… Ready or not, here I come!” Amelia shouted and began her search. She wandered the halls and opened each room, searching for the weird mortal girl. “I wonder where she is…” Amelia wondered aloud before laughing cutely, “Why am I wondering that. The whole point of hide and seek is to find her because I DON’T know where she is.”

She floated down the hall and bumped right into Dash. “Oof.” they both said. “I’m so sorry Dash. I didn’t mean to bump into you like that. Please don’t be mad.” Amelia said and looked as if she’s begin to cry.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it. Please don’t cry. I’m not hurt.” Dash smiled, “Where are you off too in such a rush?” Dash asked the young ghost girl.

“I’m playing hide and seek with one of the mortals. The green haired one! It’s super fun. Have you seen her? I think her name is Koda. Have you seen Koda?” Amelia asked. 

“Sorry, I haven’t. I hope you find her. I know you can do it. You’re the absolute best and hide and seek.” Dash smiled. Amelia beamed, thanked her and ran off to find the mortal girl. Once she finished all of the rooms on the first floor, she continued to the second floor.

Once she was on the second floor, she entered the room Koda was in, not that she knew that. “Maybe in here?” Amelia said aloud to herself and started searching the room.

* * *

 

Koda heard the door open and looked up from her reading. She had found two journals that would be helpful but the rest had been worthless. Seriously, how many people wrote about the zombie apocalypse. It had nothing to do with the manner. Oh well... 

She heard someone, probably Amelia, say, “Maybe in here?” and she became still. She could hear herself breathing and it made her nervous. Koda knew she had nothing on the line yet she still didn’t want to be found. Maybe it was the competitive spirit in her. 

Slowly the closet doors opened and she was greeted with Amelia’s smiling face. “Found you! I found you! YAY!!!” Amelia giggled and helped Koda out of the closet. 

“Ya, you did find me. How’d you do it so quickly?” Koda asked the giggling girl.

“No idea. I just looked. You know, go with your instinct. I really liked playing that. It was super duper fun! I haven’t had so much fun in years!” the ghost girl smiled. Koda laughed in response to her answer. 

“Okay, I promised you I’d give you something if you found me. So here it is.” Koda said as she pulled the doll out of her hoodie. 

My doll!!! My doll!!!" she cried, joy written plain on her face cute little face, “I cannot believe you found this! Thank you so much!!! You’re the best!!!” She started to glow white, more pure like the light above. Like an angel... Her off casting blue was gone and now she looked like white ghost. A light beam surrounded Amelia and she screamed in pain. Her cries were so saddening. 

Her pretty soft yellow sundress and torso gained a blood red color. Blood seeping through the fabric of the pretty clothing. Her dress became ripped, almost torn off her small frame, and her ribcage and crushed, distorted, broken ribs became visible to the eye. They blood seemed to be seeping from the exposed wounds. The ghost girl also appeared to have some "tire marks" on her arms and legs, though it was hard to tell as the some parts of the limbs were crushed as well. Her face was coated in the iron smelling red fluid.

Koda was shocked at this transformation. Locked in place, all she could do was stare. 

Amelia started crying as her death form was revealed to the world. Koda then whispered in a soft and calming voice, "Amelia, may your spirit go to the light. You deserve every little bit of happiness.” Koda started piecing everything together and whispered once again, “You died a young death you didn't deserve when you were run over by a vehicle. May you soul reach everlasting happiness."

Amelia smiled and whispered, "I will, thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you for making me happy!" She was now in a beautiful white dress with angel wings. She then disappeared, flying upward into the light. Koda smiled, one down, five to go. 

She then noticed something on the floor, a small, wooden box. It was painted with colorful swirls and pretty gems. The brown wood was shiny and smooth. Koda picked it up and hurried back to the library to give them the good news.

* * *

 

Flashy felt something weird. Something was off, missing... It was as if...

"Talia, where is Amelia?" Faith asked.

"Probably swinging on the stupid chandelier..." Talia muttered, “Why should you care… Why should I care!”

As if on cue, Dash ran, err, floated in, out of breath. "Flash, you'll never believe it! Guess what! The mortals did it! It was the green haired girl! She did it!" Dash cried whilst gasping for air. 

"Wait, what? What did the mortals do?" Faith asked. 

Talia just shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t care what the stupid mortals did.” Talia spat rudely. Faith turned back to Dash for the answer

"They saved Amelia. Amelia just went to the light..." Dash smiled.

* * *

 

When Koda returned to the library the boys were looking in different journals while the two ghosts, Oliver and Ariel, were sitting in a chair, Oliver petting Ariel's head/hair. They looked so sweet, like a mother and child.  

"I did it!" Koda proclaimed. Oliver smiled as the boys got up and gave her five.

"What's that?" Gade asked while pointing to the wooden box in Koda's arms. 

"I don't know? This was all that was left after Amelia went to the light." Koda said. 

Red looked at the box then smiled, "That's a spirit box. Spirits will leave these behind to so that others will understand them. I wonder, what’s in it?" 

"Well, let's open it and find out." Koda said.

Once the box was open, the contents was displayed on the table. A few pretty necklaces and bracelets, a small ring, a miniature tire, and a few photos. The photos were the most puzzling of everything. One of them was of Amelia as an even younger child. Another was a picture of her and Red at what appeared to be right before her death. Both were smiling as they ate ice cream, neither expecting death to be right around the corner. 

To say Red was confused was an understatement. He never even knew this girl and apparently he'd taken pictures with her. 

Oliver smiled when she saw the photos. "Aww, Amelia spoke so highly of you Red." Oliver smiled as Red shot her a confused look. Oliver laughed again, "She said her brother was the sweetest thing in the world. She said he never did anything wrong and would protect her if the situation called for it. And so, she even gave her life for him..."

Red cried out, painful memories that had been repressed for years flooding back into his mind. His older sister, sweet and caring, was always there for him. It was the day they were to hang out together and spend quality time. 

Then the truck came out of nowhere, a drunk driver. Red's 14 year old sister pushed him out of the way before her cried of anguish were heard loud and clear, like glass shattering.

Red cried, his sweet sister had given up her life to save his…

Brought back to reality, Red sobbed. Koda gave her boyfriend a hug while whispering sweet words into his ear. 

Oliver only looked on sadly. Then she sighed and looked up to the sky. "You left us too soon Amelia, your brother needs you now more than ever..." Oliver whispered before looking at the two who were giving Red a reassuring hug.

_ "Family... It's a precious thing... Something you never want to lose..." Ariel whispered. _


	6. The Journal of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The text that is crossed out is just the text that is hard to read in the journal. The crossed out text is meant to be read. Thanks! :3

Once the crying turned into soft sobs, the group reassessed their situation. "Okay, we have five more spirits we have to send to to light. Can you give us any more information on them Oliver?" Koda asked.

Oliver sighed and shook her head. "Sadly, I cannot. I can only point you in the right direction. There is a bedroom upstairs on the third floor, containing a journal written by one of the ghosts. I know the third floor is a risk, but that’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself. That's all I can tell you. Until we meet again young mortals." Oliver said before she took Ariel's hand and the two disappeared from the room.

Koda gave an exasperated sigh. "Well that sucks… Okay, Red and I will go find the book. Gade, you go do whatever you came here to do. Just promise to be careful, okay." Koda addressed the group.

"I'll be careful. Cannot say the same for you two. Don’t get yourselves killed, okay. I don’t want to clean up the mess." Gade replied, sass in his teasing tone.

* * *

 

Koda coughed several times, "Man, it sure is dusty up here... You'd think they'd have cleaned this place out. I mean jeez! This is the most dust I’ve ever seen in my entire life!" 

"This is a ghost mansion and it’s abandoned. I don’t think they have some cute little cleaning service. Besides, we shouldn't even here up here according to the spirit, Faith." Red whispered. 

"Calm down Red. Oh look, here is the room. I think?" Koda said, while letting out a small laugh to lighten the mood.

The two entered an old, dusty room. A single, queen sized bed lay against the wall. It’s blankets and pillow an old, faded color. A large dresser was across from the bed and a nightstand lay next to the bed. The dresser was old oak and when Koda opened it, it contained old fashioned dress shirts and ties. On the nightstand lay a lit candelabra, shedding light through the room. A window, with silk curtains was at the opposite side of the room, closed, though light still filtered through to illuminate the dark room.  On the other side of the room, a desk lay next to the door, pressed against the wall. Upon the desk lay a small, leather bound journal.

"This must be the journal Blue was talking about." Koda said as she opened it to the first page.

* * *

 

Day 1: Hello, my name is Faith ~~Flitzer...~~ This place is so weird... I don't know where I am or what this place is. All I know is that it's HUGE. I haven’t even seen the whole place yet! Well, I’m making this my room, so… Welcome home me! There is someone inside the mansion with me. A girl with hair of black and red. Well, that's nice. I'm girl of brown hair. Cool, anyway… ~~I guess, welcome to my new life.~~

Day 10: This is so weird. I never thought that I'd be here with the spirits. I guess the spirit world does exist. ~~So apparently I'll be here for a while...~~ Don't know how long… It’s still pretty cool here!

Year 1 Day: 327: Hello again. Guess what! There are more people here!!! So happy. Best day ever!!! Sometimes it gets lonely. The black and red haired girl doesn't talk much... ~~Oh well. BEST DAY EVER!!!~~ I need to go say hello to my new friends.

Year 49, Day 271: People have come and gone... I'm still here with the black and red haired girl... It's really nice here! Well, as nice as being a spirit can be. The girl is still really quiet. I wonder why neither of us have moved on yet. We’ve been here for such a long time. We’ve seen people come and go. When will it be our turn?

Year 100, Day 142: I'm scared... Today, something  ~~frightening~~ happened... There were these people... They came in with these weird-looking weapons. They look magical and the people don’t look nice. They look like they came to kill… The magical things hurt me... ~~I almost died... They are still in here...~~ Wondering the mansion's halls… ~~Help me...~~

Year 100, Day 143: What have I done... I killed some of them... Some of them died... I killed them... What have I done... What have I done… -impaired writing-

Year 274 Day 310: Spirits have come and gone. ~~I have killed many people who stepped foot into this mansion.~~ People who came to hurt me. People who came to hurt us. I'm still here with the black and red haired girl. Many more have come and gone…

Year 500 Day 219: There are more mortals here... I know that doesn't seem so bad, but... These mortals have sent one of our own to the light. I've never seen that happen... ~~I don't know...~~ I don't know… I only hope that -impaired writing-

* * *

 

"HEY!!! THAT'S MY PERSONAL JOURNAL!!! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE THAT!!! IT’S MINE!!!" a voice shouted from behind the two. Koda and Red immediately dropped the journal back onto the table.

"Oh Sugar Honey Iced Tea..." Koda whispered...

* * *

 

Gade, on the other hand, had stayed in the library. He was hoping to find some books on heartbreak, and, much to his delight, found just what he was looking for. The book was small, but detailed. Gade smiled at his treasured find. 

"I wonder if she even remembers me? I wonder if I'm to late to make amends... I just hope I have enough time." Gade whispered to himself.

Gade sighed as he looked through another book. Eventually, after a good deal of searching he cried out, "Found it!!!" He opened the book and started reading. The pages detailed how to make someone who died of heartbreak happy, and, more importantly, how to send them to the light.

"Okay, I think I've got it!" Gade smiled, practically jumping for joy. "I am finally say I'm sorry, and make my love happy." Gade smiled at the prospect of that. “And the nightmares will go away. The spirits will no longer haunt my dreams.” Gade smiled once more.

Gade whispered into the empty library, "My lover... Oliver Karou..."

* * *

 

Faith was more than just unhappy; she was pissed off. She, just like in the basement, oozing blood from the area around her head and neck. These creatures had the nerve to, not only enter the third floor, but also look inside her personal journal. 

Faith laughed an evil laugh before giving a sweet smile and whispering, "Run!"

Koda and Red took off like bullets, screaming as they ran down the hall at top speed. Unfortunately for them, Faith was much faster and knew exactly what she was doing.

"So, who's life shall end tonight?" Faith cackled as she casually flew beside the screaming pair. Red shot a terrified glance to his equally terrified girlfriend, Koda. Then, he gave her a reassuring smile. 

"I love you Koda. I always will..." Red said to her, kissing her hand, before jumping at Faith.

Faith cackled before pulling out a stainless-steel, European styled sword and charged at Red. Red smirked and opened the folds of his long black coat to pull out his death scythe. Faith swung down on him and Red blocked the deadly blow. The blades clashed, which caused horrible sounds of metal on metal to erupt through the empty hall.

Koda cried tears and screamed pleas as she watched her lover fight in a duel he wouldn't win. She liked to believe he would win but the odds were stacked against the both of them. 

"Red!" Koda called, hand extended towards her. Red looked over at her only to cry out in searing pain as sharp metal pierced through the soft flesh of his abdomen.

"NO!!!"

Red fell to the flood, blood seeping from an obvious wound in his abdomen, staining his clothes and the floor beneath him. His breath was labored and it was obvious he wouldn’t live long.

"Well, that's enough for now... I'll be back for you later. Bye bye!" Faith whispered in Koda’s ear before disappearing. Koda frantically rushed to Red's side.

"OMG! No, no, this cannot be happening. Stay strong Red. You can make it through. Of God, there's so much blood!!! What do I do? I don’t know what to do!!!" Koda babbled, fear and worry overtaking her logic.

"Koda... Koda, please calm down..." Red whispered to the panicking girl. Somehow, even through all of her babbling, the panicking girl heard his words. 

Koda looked at him and started to cry. "I don't want to lose you." Koda said, taking her hand in his. “Please, please don’t leave me. I love you. You need to come home with me.” Koda whispered into the dying man's arms as she gripped onto his hand for dear life.

Red only gave a soft, sad smile back, "Promise me you won't die here. Promise me you will survive." 

Koda sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I promise Red, I promise. I will survive, for you."

"Smile... I want to see you smile..." Red whispered, on his last breathes of life. Koda gave a genuine smile before bending down to kiss Red. Red smiled back into the kiss before he broke it. Koda gave another genuine smile. Red smiled back before closing his eyes and falling into a sleep from which he would never awaken from.

Koda clutched his chest, taking the devil pendant from around his neck and putting it around hers, before crying some more... "WHY! WHY! WHY!" she screamed, not caring who heard her cries of anguish.

* * *

 

_ "To love someone, is to let them go. But one cannot truly let go... Their will always be a piece of that someone in their heart..." Ariel whispered. _


	7. Explanation and Love

Once Koda’s crying was reduced to sniffles, she sighed and stood up. “What now?” she wondered aloud, “My love is gone and I’m lost… Someone, help me…” 

Koda gave a longing glance back towards Red’s corpse before continuing down the hall. “Now what?” she asked herself. Suddenly she heard a voice.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I heard screaming… Is everything ok..a..y… OMG!!! THERE’S A DEAD BODY!!!” the voice cried. Koda froze, hid behind a table and remained quiet, deathly quiet. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Is there anybody there?” the voice said once again. Koda still remained motionless, breathing quietly.

When a shadow loomed over and a hand extended down, she sighed at took it. The figure pulled her up and gave a smile. It was a ghost and Koda could only hope a friendly one. She had messy blue hair, a green shirt, tan cargo pants and blue shoes. However, all of the clothes were stained with blood and some of her limbs and bones stuck out at weird angles. Koda looked like she was going to scream till the ghost girl covered her face.

“Shhh… Don’t scream… Remember, we look different on the third floor. Here, come with me to my room and I may be able to help you.” the ghost said. Koda only nodded in response before following the girl down the hall.

Koda realized they were traveling in the same direction from which she had come. However, Red’s corpse was nowhere to be seen. All evidence that he had been murdered their was gone as well. Koda was shocked, “What happened?” she whispered to herself. The ghost leading the way heard her.

“He went to the light. The corpse is out in the garden. I bet little Ariel has already given him a proper burial and some nice flowers.” she responded, smiling.

“What?” Koda asked, obviously confused. 

“I’ll explain when we get to my room, okay.” the ghost girl said. Koda just nodded her head and followed, looking back one more time to the place where her lover died.

* * *

 

Gade had been reading, reading a long while. He believed himself to be ready. Ready to confront his fear. The last thing was to find her. That would be the challenge. Gade knew what he had to do. The book had several steps towards helping a dead lover move on:

Step 1: Gather items that they loved in life (the more the better)

Step 2: Find their ghost

Step 3: If enraged (most are) you must calm them down

Step 4: Explain your feelings whether it be positive or negative

Step 5: Sever their bonds with the world holding them back

Step 6: Yay! You did it!!!

Gade, even after reading it, was very skeptical. However, he had no other ideas so he decided to go with it. What did she even like? Flowers were a good way to start so he headed out to the garden.

Once he arrived, he noticed the little black haired ghost that was with Oliver earlier. She was placing flowers on a grave. He walked up and she noticed him. 

Without turning around she whispered, “I’m very sorry for your loss…” Gade was obviously confused and gave her a confused look.

“What? I was just wondering if you could help me find some pretty flowers.” Gade explained to the little ghost girl. The girl turned around; made an “oh” shape with her mouth before flying off to get the flowers. That’s when he looked at the grave the little girl had been standing at.

The on the tombstone were the words “Red Devil”. Gade was shocked, Red was dead, since when. He had been alive when Gade last saw him. He couldn’t believe it. What had happened? That’s when Gade took a better look around.

The “garden” wasn’t a garden at all. Sure there were beautiful flowers and it had a sweet garden ambiance, however he could see clearly now. It was a graveyard. Gade could see tombstone after tombstone of what he assumed were the people who didn’t make it out of the mansion.

“So many... “ he heard a voice say and he jumped. Looking down he say the ghost girl with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. “I know why you want these… Here… Good luck and please pay your respects before you leave…” the girl whispered before handing him the flowers and leaving the garden graveyard. 

Gade watched the girl leave before looking down at Red’s grave once more. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “May you rest in peace.” Gade looked at the graveyard one more time before heading inside to complete the rest of his task.

* * *

 

When Koda entered the girl’s room she really was surprised. Instead of the creepy ambiance like she expected, she was greeted with a cute and whimsical styled room. “I’m sorry but this room was both mine and Amelia’s. It’s quite cute, is it not?” the ghost girl smiled before shutting the door. 

“Ya, it is pretty cute.” Koda admitted, smiling childishly to herself. The ghost smiled back before motioning for Koda to come join her on the bed. Koda did so, climbing on haphazardly.

“Okay, first off, my name is Dash. Or that’s my nickname.” Dash smiled. “Second, here’s a little tip. There are 5 ghosts still here in this mansion. 3 are friendly, 2 are not. Each of us friendly ghosts are only allowed to give you specific information. Oliver is able to tell you locations of objects and what you’ll find, I am able to explain things and give background information and Ariel is able to see things, you’ll have to ask her more about that. The two non friendly ghosts are Faith and Talia. Faith has a good heart and she’s usually found on the third floor. She’s after you because you broke into her home and she’s very protective of those she calls family. Talia has a dark heart and usually is found in the basement. If I were you, I’d try to avoid her. She’s after you just because she likes to murder...” Dash explained as Koda listened intently. “Okay, it’s question time. You can ask me anything and I will try my best to answer it.” Dash smiled.

“Where did Red go?” Koda whispered.

* * *

 

Gade was ready to seek out Oliver. He had a bouquet of beautiful white roses, a box of yummy candy, a pretty dress and a stuffed bunny plushie. Gade wandered the halls searching for his ghostly lover. “Do you need some help…” a voice asked and Gade shrieked.

The little ghost girl with black hair, Ariel, her name was Ariel, stood behind him. “Ya, I could use some help. Do you know where Oliver Karou is?” Gade asked the little girl. The girl looked at him before turning to the door on his right and knocking twice.

“Come in.” the voice said from the other side of the door. Ariel looked at Gade before walking back down the wall without a sound. Gade shuttered, she could be really creepy. Slowly, he opened the door to Oliver’s room.

It was a small, plain room with modest furnishings. On the small bed sat the ghost of Oliver Karou. “What are you doing here?” the ghost growled. Gade looked at her confused.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me.” he said.

“I’m not… Get out! NOW!!!” Oliver cried, lunging at Gade. That’s when he remembered it, step 3. Usually the ghosts were angry and Oliver was no exception. Gade ran, he ran for his life.

* * *

 

Dash sighed. She looked at Koda sadly before giving a weak smile. “Red’s body is in the garden. He’s been buried properly and all evidence of his murder has been cleaned up.” she explained. Koda looked skeptical.

“Why? Why clean it up like that?” Koda asked, “Who cleans it up?”

“Ariel does. Ariel cleans up all evidence of murder, gives them a grave and a burial in the garden and even lays flowers on them periodically.” Dash explained.

“Why? Why go to all of that trouble?” Koda asked.

Dash shrugged. “No one really knows why she does it.” Dash said, then gave a sad smile, “Some of us believe she wishes to give the people the burial she never received.”

“What does that mean?” Koda asked again.

“Well, most of us were buried and have a grave elsewhere.” Dash explained, “However, some of us, like Ariel, were never buried. She may wish to let the body rest in peace since the body will never leave the island.”

“That’s really sweet of her.” Koda smiled sadly. She looked out the window down to what appeared to be the front of the mansion. The front that she and Red had been standing in front of a few hours before. 

“I’m very sorry for your loss…” Dash whispered before gently taking Koda’s hand in hers. Koda only smiled back sadly. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Dash asked softly.

“Ya, could you explain to me exactly what I need to do to send you all to the light.” Koda asked, “I don’t want to lose anymore friends… And I want to help you…”

Dash smiled, “I can’t tell you exactly what we all need to move on, but I can give you an idea. You’ll need to talk to Oliver to find the location of some of the items.”

“Okay, first off, I should probably get rid of the violet ghosts.” Koda reasoned. Dash nodded in agreement.

“Okay, well, I’m not sure where it is or what it does specifically, however, I know there is a specific knife here in this mansion. You have to ‘kill or be killed’ with the knife. In a sense, you have to kill Talia to save here. ‘Give her a taste of her own medicine’ type of thing.” Dash reasoned. Koda nodded before making a mental note.

“Faith I’m not sure about. I think for her there are several books that have the answer. Faith had been dead for more than 500 years so it may be a little harder.” Dash said. Koda made another mental note to go find Oliver and ask her for answers.

“Next is Oliver. I have the feeling your little green haired friend has that all under control. Don’t worry about Oliver. As for me, you have to help me open something.” Dash explained.

“Open something?” Koda asked. Dash turned around and reached under the bed. She pulled out a small chest. 

“I’m suppose to open this, however, I cannot find nor touch the key. If you could help me get it I’d be really appreciative.” Dash smiled. 

Koda gave a grin, “No problem, I’ll help you!” Dash smiled and thanked her. “What about the little girl, Ariel.” Koda asked.

Dash shrugged, “I actually have no idea what will save her. She’s been here for so very long… I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

“Okay, well I’m off!!! I’m going to go save some spirits. Thanks so much for all of your help.” Koda smiled and thanked the ghost girl. Dash smiled, wished her good luck and Koda ran out the door.

* * *

 

_ “Something’s not right… Something’s missing… Someone’s going to die…” Ariel whispered towards Red’s tombstone, “Someone… Save us…” _

 


	8. Love, Hate, Death and Revivel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby belongs to [FlashRuby](https://www.wattpad.com/user/FlashRuby) so thanks for letting me use him!

Gade was running, running and running and running. Because he was running, he wasn’t watching where he was going. With the grace of a dying animal, fell into an open door and down the stairs. “Owww…” Gade whimpered as he rubbed his head, “Where am I?”

He looked around to see a dungeon like area. Gade’s panic meter went up even more. His breathing became heavy. He looked as if he would start screaming and panicking. 

“Hey, who are you?” a male voice whispered causing Gade to jump and scream. “Keep it down won’t you. You’ll attract the ghosts. Here, come with me.” the voice harshly whispered again before grabbing Gade's arm and pulling him away.

Once Gade regained his senses he looked at his surroundings. He was in a small room illuminated by several candles. He deduced he was in the basement. The male who had grabbed him was now in front of him. He had short messy red hair with black tips. He wore a gray hoodie, blue jeans and black combat boots.

“Who are you?” Gade asked. The male snorted.

“Me, ha! I should be asking you that. I just indirectly saved your life didn't I.” the male snorted again.

“Okay, okay… I’m Gade, Gade Emerald. And who are you?” Gade snapped.

“My name is Ruby, Flash Ruby.” Ruby smirked, “Professional Supernatural Hunter or PSH”

“PPPPPPSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~~~~” Gade tried to sound out but broke down laughing. Ruby rolled his eyes.

“Stop laughing, it’s not that funny.” Ruby snapped. Gade kept laughing.

“So, what are you doing here?” Gade asked between fits of laughter.

“Don’t you know what I do? Do you know who I am? Wait, stop, don’t answer that.” Ruby sighed. “I’m a Professional Supernatural Hunter. I hunt and help the supernatural move on. Now, why the heck are you here?” Ruby explained, exasperation written on his face. 

“Oh, that’s pretty cool. I’m here helping a spirit move on.” Gade explained.

“You don’t seem to be doing a very good job.” Ruby snickered. Gade frowned at him before rolling his eyes.

“No one asked you professional weirdo!” Gade snapped back. Ruby just continued to snicker.

“Anyway, maybe you can help me and I’ll help you too.” Ruby smiled. Gade pondered his suggestion.

“Go on…” he said skeptically.

“I’ll summon this said ‘lover’ for you and in exchange you’ll help me get to the third floor of this cursed place. Deal?” Ruby asked.

Gade thought for a moment before saying, “Deal.” while shaking Ruby’s hand.

* * *

 

Koda knew she should be looking for Oliver to help her find the blade to kill Talia, however, he mind was in other places. She figure she’d want to find Dash’s key. Dash had been so kind to her. But there was also something else on her mind, Red. 

Slowly, she made her way down the halls in the direction of the garden. Once she opened the door to the outside she was pleasantly surprised to smell the sweet aroma of flowers. There were gravestones as far as the eye could see. She eventually spotted the little girl, Ariel, placing flowers on a grave.

Koda thought back to what Dash had said about Ariel. Maybe Ariel could help her. The little girl didn’t seem to notice her or just chose to ignore her as she walked up behind her. Eventually, she spoke in a very soft tone, “I’m sorry for your loss…”

Koda looked at the grave and noticed Red’s name on to. She held back the tears and gripped his necklace around her neck. “Thank you for burying him.” Koda said. Ariel nodded back. “Hey, could you help me? I’m looking for Dash’s magical key. Do you know where it is?” Koda asked the ghost girl.

Ariel thought for a moment, shook her head, then looked Koda in the eye. “It’s there…” she whispered and pointed towards where she came from. “You know where it is, you just have to find it…” the girl whispered again before disappearing.

“Well,” Koda sighed, “that was helpful.” However she couldn’t shake this weird feeling she had and found herself drawn to the library. Remembering what Ariel had said, she went to work looking for hidden passages that may contain the key.

* * *

 

Gade and Ruby were slowly searching for a way to get out of the basement. The way Gade had gotten in definitely wasn’t the way out. So, the pair kept searching. That’s when they heard a strange female voice, “What are you doing here?”

Both boys froze. “Did you hear that… Was that you Ruby?” Gade whispered to his partner.

“No, my voice doesn’t sound like that and of course I heard that…” Ruby hissed back under his breath. 

“I asked you, what are you doing here? Nobody ever comes down here?” the female voice asked again.

“Who are you? Where are you?” Gade asked the voice. A figure stepped out of the darkness, obviously a ghost. She had golden blond hair with red tips. She wore a schoolgirl uniform complete with white shirt, blue skirt, knee high white socks and brown shoes. However, her throat was sit and she had a gaping hole right where her heart would be. 

“I’m Talia, Talia Prower. I’m right here… And you… You’re going to DIE!” she smiled evilly while pulling out a knife.

“RUN!!!” Gade screamed as he and Ruby took off down the dungeon’s halls, Talia’s cackles heard behind them.

* * *

 

Koda had searched the entire library to no avail. Seriously, she pulled every book, smashed every button and upturned every piece of furniture. She sighed, exasperated. “How hard must it be to find a stupid key?” she cried aloud, voicing her displeasure.

“You’re not looking in the right place…” Ariel’s voice whispered out of nowhere. Koda cried out and jumped back in alarm. 

“AHH!!! When did you get here?” Koda asked the ghost. The ghost girl shook her head and pointed to a bookshelf. 

“In there… The key is in there…” she whispered softly before disappearing. Koda shivered, the girl could be so creepy.

She went to the shelf and found it labeled ‘Magic’. She rolled her eyes before starting to search. Once she proceeded to have done the same as before, she stood back in frustration. “AHH! What was she even talking about! I searched this whole section to no avail. I may as well start cracking the books open too!” she cried before pausing. ‘Crack the books open’ sounded like a really good idea.

She began to pull the books out one by one looking for anything that may stand out to her. Eventually she found a book depicting a beautiful key. Slowly, she touched the page suprised to find her hand going right through the paper. She reached out and delicately touched the key before yanking it out of the book.

She smiled, she would be able to help Dash. It hadn’t even taken her that long. “Ya! I did it!” she cried aloud. 

“That’s not Dash’s key…” Ariel’s voice broke her happy dance. She stopped and slowly turned to face the girl. 

“What do you mean? What do you mean it’s not her key?”” Koda asked the ghost girl.

“That key goes to a door on the other end of the library.” Ariel whispered while pointing towards the said door. Koda nodded as she watched the ghost walk out of the library. Koda sighed, why couldn’t things just go her way?

She walked over to the door and inserted the key into the lock. The door shined and she slowly opened it to reveal a dark, rickety staircase spiraling downwards. Koda silently prayed this didn’t lead to the basement and headed down. 

Once she made it to the bottom, she sighed. There were torches that lined the damp walls and Koda picked one up. Slowly and cautiously she walked down the hall, eventually coming across a wooden door. Koda held her breath as she pushed open the door. 

Inside the room was a single winding staircase upward. Koda sighed, her old enemy, more stairs. Slowly she started her long arduous climb up. 

Eventually, she made it to the top. “Gah! It’s always stairs! Why is it always stairs? Why are there so many stairs?” Koda cried to no one in particular. She gave a sigh and sat down to catch her breath. Once she caught it she stood up and looked around. She was in a tower and could look out and see the whole island. 

“Wow! Look at the view. It’s so beautiful.” Koda whispered, wishing she could just stare at the quiet, peaceful-looking island forever. Eventually, she noticed a small lake near the mansion. The lake seemed to be glowing. Koda made a note to go there and turned back to the stairs. No, she was not going down those again. 

Koda looked out the tower’s window. She noted how the vines grew on the tower wall. Her gut told her to jump out the window. At least it would be faster than the stupid stairs. She slowly started climbing out of the window and gripping onto the vines for dear life. ONce she whole body was out of the tower, she proceeded to climb down the vines. Koda, while climbing, whispered to herself, “Wow! I’m so glad I didn’t skip gym class!”

* * *

 

“Isn’t there anything you can do to stop her?” Gade screamed as he and Ruby tore down another hall of the basement. 

"I don’t know, what do you want me to do?” Ruby asked back sarcastically.

“Aww, are you boys lost. I can help you find your way back to hell!” Talia’s voice sounded through the halls causing both boys to scream once again. 

“What do we do now Mr. Professional?” Gade asked again, his tone sarcastic and sassy.

“We’ll feed you to her. That way I can escape you and her.” Ruby responded with equal sass and sarcasm. 

“Very funny, but seriously, what do we do?” Gade dared to take a quick glance behind him, “The ghost’s gaining on us.” Ruby sighed as they made another turn. Ruby noticed something sticking to a wall and grabbed it. 

“What did you find?” Gade asked as they continued to run.

“A dagger, pretty one too. Here, take it, you’ll need it for defence.” Ruby said as he tossed the blade to Gade. Gade caught it and the two kept running. However, both here running out of energy. The pair turned the corner to be met with a dead end. 

“Uh oh! What do we do now?” Gade panicked. 

“We stand and fight.” Ruby said and started to chant something strange.

“Oh dear, you’ve hit a dead end… How unfortunate of you... “ Talia cackled as she appeared from the shadows. Gade gulped and shakily held the dagger in his hand. Ruby continued to chant.

“Ha! I can see you shaking. Are you scared little boy?” Talia mocked before revealing her own bloody dagger. “I’m not scared of you little boy, though, you probably cannot say the same about me!” Talia cackled before lunging at Gade. 

Gade jumped into the air and did his best to dodge the aggressive ghost’s assault. Ruby stopped chanting and cried, “Gade, duck!” Gade did as told, landing on the ground and crouching down to see Ruby bring a large sword down on the ghost. However, it just went through her form.

“What! How! This blade is suppose to be able to hit ghosts!” Ruby cried in shock. Talia cackled.

“Ha, stupid mortals! You cannot kill me with any mer blade. You must find a special blade to destroy me. Now it’s my turn.” Talia cried as she lunged at Ruby. Ruby instinctively pulled up his sword to block the blow. “Tell me, how long will you be able to hold out?” Thalia laughed while pushing her body into the blade.

Ruby started to sweat. “Gade, I can’t hold her off much longer… Help!” Ruby cried. Gade jumped into action slicing Talia with the dagger he found. Thalia screamed in agony.

“Where? Where did you get that? That’s not possible! I hid that blade so I wouldn’t die!” Talia cried as she inspected her small wound. “I’ll make you pay for that!” Talia said, lunging at the pair again. She was successful in hissing Ruby’s forearm however Ruby had other plans. 

“Come before me spirit, bring me the one of cursed heart!” Ruby cried as the ground below him began to glow.

“What are you going?” Gade asked as he dodged the ghost’s attacks. Suddenly, a ghost appeared from the light circle. “Oliver…” Gade whispered.

“Oliver, you’ve come to watch him die!!!” Talia cried as she transformed her small knife into a rather impressive death scythe. Gade continued to dodge her attacks while looking at Oliver. She didn’t seem to be aware of her surroundings. Her eyes looked glassy and far away.

“Ah!” Gade cried as Talia’s blade cut through his stomach. That’s when Oliver snapped to attention, her eyes full of artificial life. Ruby whispered something before Oliver spring forward and grabbed the special dagger from Gade's hand. 

She began her fight with Talia, gracefully dodging her attacks and dishing out her own blows. Eventually, Oliver stabbed Talia in the stomach, eye and slit her throat. Talia cried out, writhing in agony, “Why! Why Oliver!!! Why would you do this to me?” she cried before a beam of light shot from her chest. Oliver’s eyes had once again before glassy and lost as Talia’s form became soft and full of light.

Where Talia once stood was only a small wooden box with knife marks. Blue picked it up before looking back to where Ruby was standing. She slowly disappeared with Ruby in tow, vanishing with the box.

Gade groaned in pain. The wound in his stomach was too large to heal and he’d be dead in a few hours. He moaned in pain as he tried moving slowly towards the hall. That’s when she appeared. Oliver Karou.

Oliver was looking around for anything interesting when she spotted Gade. “Gade! OMG! What happened to you?” Oliver asked as she wrapped her arms around him. “You’re bleeding! Oh no! What can I do? Ahh! No, don’t die. You cannot die on me Gade.” Oliver panicked.

“Oliver…” Gade whispered. Oliver looked at him, tears in her soft blue eyes. “Oliver… I love you. I’m so sorry I hurt you like I did. I didn’t mean any of it. I love you and always will.” Gade smiled as he confessed his feelings to Oliver.

Oliver smiled, “I love you too Gade. I’m sorry I brought the knife down on my heart but you hurt me so badly on the inside. It’s nice to know you still love me. Please, take my hand.” Oliver held out her hand and Gade took it. 

“I love you Oliver.” Gade whispered.

“I love you too Gade. Thank you for coming all the way out here just to say goodbye to me.” Oliver smiled. Gade smiled back before beckoning Oliver to bend down near him. Slowly, he gave her a soft, sweet kiss. Oliver kissed back and at that moment, nothing could stop them. Nothing could ruin the moment.

Then the moment ended and Gade collapsed into Oliver’s arms, dead. Oliver kissed his forehead before a white light surrounded her. “Excuse me… Um, light…” Oliver started. 

“What is is Oliver Karou? You're deed is done and you may now go to the light.” the light responded back in a deep, god-like voice.

“Well… There is something I want to do…” Oliver responded.

“Go on.” the light said.

“I would like to stay here with Ariel till he reaches the light herself.” Oliver said. 

“How thoughtful. Very well, you will stay a ghost until Ariel reaches the light as well.” the light responded before disappearing.

Oliver looked up once more before whispering, “I love you… Gade…”

* * *

 

_ “You must be careful… You’ve sealed your fate…” Ariel whispered into the dark night as she watched Koda from the mansion, "3 down... 3 to go... 2 mortals left alive..." _


	9. Boxes, Cuddles and a Creep

“AH!!!” Koda cried as her grip on the branch faltered. She crashed to the ground beneath the tower and rubbed her head. “Owww… My head… My butt… It hurts...” she moaned in discomfort. Slowly she pulled herself off the ground and looked around. The lake wasn’t too far from her location so she trotted over. 

As she continued, she looked back towards the mansion and wondered, “How did I never see a lake from in there? I mean, I looked at the whole flipping island!” Eventually she made it to the pool of water and was a little distraught to find the water being murky and off colored. “Well… I guess the key is in there… That’s now stereotypical horror movies are like, right?” Koda laughed to herself before cautiously dipping her finger into the liquid. 

The liquid moved like water. It seemed to be water. Slowly, Koda reached her arm down to feel around the bottom. After being unable to even touch the bottom Koda sighed. “I’m going to have to get down and dirty, aren't I…” she grumbled to herself. 

She willed herself not to cry as she took a deep breath and jumped into the lake. The cold water hit her nervous system like a shock and she shivered. Slowly, she made her way to the bottom of the lake, swimming quickly and efficiently. When she made it to the bottom, she looked around to inspect her situation. There was a glowing light coming from an underwater cave and Koda mentally sighed once she realized that was her next destination. Slowly she swam towards the cave. 

Once inside the cave she realized it curved upwards and her head emerged from the water to find an air pocket. Koda gasped for breath and pulled herself out of the water. When she got out she expected to be dripping wet and freezing. However, her clothes were as dry as when she had been standing on land. “Huh? Magic perhaps?” Koda asked herself before going towards the light in the cave. 

When she eventually reached the light she found herself in a large chamber. In the center of the chamber was a key. The key was ornately crafted with beautiful gems and silver. The key sat on a stand that read “Only for those who now how to wield my power”. Koda looked confused at the sigh but decided to dismiss it. She picked the key up and waited in anticipation for some sort of trap to spring at her. When nothing happened she relaxed. 

A loud rumbling was heard and Koda was at alarm again. A stone in the wall moved open to reveal, more stairs. Koda cried, “SO I WALK ALL THE WAY OUT TO THIS LAKE, DIVE INTO THE LAKE, CLIMB OUT TO FIND A MAGICAL KEY AND I’M GREETED WITH MORE STAIRS!!! THIS SUCKS!!!”

She grumbled as she began to climb and climb and climb. When she reached the top there was a wooden door and she opened it to reveal the library. She closed the door confused and realized it was the same door she entered when she left the library. Koda shook her head, unable to wrap her head around the mystery. She then exited the library to find Dash.

* * *

Ruby grumbled as he walked around the third floor. His agency had called him to get rid of a ghost named ‘Faith Flitzer’ but he had no idea who she was or what to do. Ruby sighed in exhaustion and kept walking. “Why was I the one out of this mission? They always give me the dirt missions...” Ruby grumbled to himself as he continued to walk. Eventually he gave up walking and entered a room.

“Might as well take a nap. I can use my dreams to locate the ghosts.” Ruby said as he closed the door and used a seal to keep the ghosts out. Exhausted, he collapsed on the bed and used his magic to locate the ghosts.

* * *

“Dash, Dash!!! Look what I found!!!” Koda cried as she ran into Dash’s room. Dash, who was resting on her bed, jumped in alarm to Koda’s voice.

“Koda, what’s wrong?” Dash asked the girl. Koda grinned before showing Dash the key she had retrieved. Dash gasped before slowly reaching out and touching the metal. She slowly took the key out of Koda’s hands and beckoned her over to the box. 

Dash inserted the key into the box and turned the key. The lock clicked and she opened the box. Inside were photos, charms, a pair of drumsticks and other assorted items. Dash started to sniffle before she began to glow white.

“Thank you! Thank you for everything Koda!” she called as she floated towards the light and her freedom. Koda waved goodbye before addressing the box. It turned out the box was Dash’s spirit box. 

She pulled out the drum sticks and reasoned that she had played an instrument in her past life. The photos were of her and another boy about her age. The backs of the photos identified the male as her older cousin. They looked so happy together. There were also charms and a charm bracelet. All of the charms were of cute characters and the like. 

Then she pulled out the darker items. There was a small box made of steel. There were also disembodied limbs. “What could this mean?” Koda asked herself as she inspected the items, “What did a metal box and broken limbs have in common.”

There was also at the bottom a newspaper article. Koda picked up the faded paper and read the report. News: A mysterious box was found today it the bottom of the lake. Police investigators opened the box to reveal the disfigured form of a young woman. The police have identified this woman as Dash Weathers who went missing several days ago. Police say that she died of blood loss as internal bleeding and broken/amputated limbs were discovered on her corpse. No other information as to who committed this crime. 

Koda finished reading the article. At the bottom there were the words, ‘Man found and caught’, written in red ink. Koda sighed and placed the items back in the box. She then put the box on dash’s nightstand and looked to the other bed in the room. “It’s so lonely…” Koda whispered.

The knock on the door broke Koda from her thoughts. A soft, sweet voice asked, “May I come in?” 

“Sure, please come in.” Koda said, reasoning that the kind voice was friendly. The door opened to reveal Oliver. She walked into the room, closed the door and sat on the bed with Koda. 

“There are only two ghosts left. You know that, right?” Oliver asked. Koda nodded her head. “There are only two mortals left too.” Oliver said. Koda looked puzzled.

“Two mortals? Well, there’s me and Gade.” Koda said. Oliver shook her head and looked down, eyes downcast.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know… Who is the other one?” Koda asked sadly. 

“You’ll meet him when the time comes. Or you may not… You’ll see.” Oliver responded. Koda nodded then looked at Oliver. Oliver gave a sad smile. “I have this for you.” she said and handed Koda a box. 

“What’s this?” Koda asked as she inspected the box. 

“It’s one of the ghost’s spirit boxes. This one is for Talia.” Oliver responded. Koda nodded in understanding before opening the box.

Inside were pictures of a young male, each having a caption and identifying the male as the girl’s crush. Then there was a picture of the girl, Talia. She looked really cute and the picture seemed to have taken without her knowing as the smile seemed genuine. Next were some cute random assortment of items which Koda sumed were gifts from her crush. 

Then the darker items. There was a blood stained knife and also a heart… Inside the box was the girl's heart. Koda let out a shriek as she realized what she was holding in her hands. Koda threw the heart back into box along with the other items and shut the lid as quickly as possible. 

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked the startled girl.

“I feel malcontented…” the mortal girl whispered back. Oliver gave her a pat on the back. 

“Do you really want to know?” she asked. Oliver nodded her head and Koda gave a sigh. “It was the worst… The worst feeling in the world. My heart just shattered into a million little pieces that no matter what I do, I cannot put them back together…” Koda whimpered. 

Oliver nodded, “I kind of feel the same way… After Gade died, my heart started to hurt and I didn’t know what was wrong…”

“Gade really is dead too? He can’t really be gone can he?” Koda asked, sniffling. Oliver only nodded her head and Koda started to cry.

“Everyone… Everyone is leaving me… Why did they all have to die?” Koda cried. Oliver wrapped her arms around Koda’s trembling frame and stroked her hair. Koda cried into Oliver’s shoulder and the two of them held onto each other for support.

* * *

Ruby was off in dream land. Currently, he was stalking Faith. Faith couldn’t see him but he could sense where she was. It was part of his PSH training that allowed him to find the ghosts.

According to the file the PSH association had on her, she’s been in the mansion for over 500 years. She needed special items, which he acquired, to set her free. Ruby gave a deep breath before contacting Faith.

“Faith… Faith… Can you hear me?” he asked. Faith whirled around in alarm.

“Who are you? Yes I can hear you, you’re quite loud and annoying. What do you want?” Faith yelled at the disembodied voice. 

“Who I am is of no importance. Don’t try and look for me, you won’t find me. I’m hear to help you move on.” Ruby called.

Faith snorted. “Help me move on. Good luck buddy. I’ve been trying to move on since I got here. What makes you think you’ll have a better chance than me?” Faith asked, sass written in her voice as she placed her hands on her hips.

“I just have a feeling I can. I would like to try.” Ruby responded. Faith gave another snort. 

“Good luck with that. In fact, let me humor you. I’ll meet you somewhere so you can test out your ‘theory’ and I can watch it fail.” Faith snickered and made air quotes around the the word theory. 

“Very well. Meet me in the grand ballroom in 2 hours and we shall see.” Ruby said.

“Very well. Prepare to lose… Ruby.” Faith smirked before Ruby woke up, startled and sweating.

“How… How did she know my name?” Ruby whispered aloud into the empty room

* * *

_“The end is just the beginning…” Ariel whispered as she watched Koda and Oliver cuddle and watched Ruby wake up in a sweat while Faith cackled into the night._


	10. Escape

Ruby, true to his word, was waiting for the ghost in the grand ballroom. The large space was comforting but at the same time a fear factor. The door opened and Faith walked through.

“Why hello Ruby.” Faith chuckled while holding out her hand for a handshake. Ruby kept his hands in his pockets and Faith lowered her hand.

“How do you know my name?” Ruby asked the ghost.

“How do I know your name? Really, what type of ghost do you think I am, a dumb one. No, I’m not. I was listening to your entire conversation with Gade before he died. I know who you are.” Faith replied nonchalantly. 

Ruby gulped and continued, “Well, I have a theory that may send you too the light. Would you like to hear it?”

“Sure, I’ve got nothing better to do with my time.” Faith sighed, bored.

Ruby nodded before pulling out Faith’s file. “It says somewhere in this mansion there are these items. If we can collect them all we can free you.” Ruby explained.

“Very well. We’ll try it. However, if this plan fails, which I’m pretty sure it will, we’ll play a game together.” Faith smirked.

“What type of game?” Ruby asked nervously.

“A fun one.” Faith cackled before extending her arm in signal for Ruby to lead the way.

* * *

“What do we do now?” Koda asked Oliver.

“I don’t know. We could try sending Ariel to the light too.” Oliver suggested.

“Well, that’s the best idea we have so let’s do it.” Koda said as she and Oliver went in search of Ariel. “Do you know where she might be?” Koda asked.

Oliver shook her head, “Sorry, but no… However, I have a feeling she wants us to play a little scavenger hunt.”

“What made you get that idea?” Koda asked her ghostly companion. Oliver pointed to Koda’s hoodie pocket. Slowly, Koda reached inside the clothing to pull out a small letter. She looked confused.

“That makes me thing Ariel want to play hide and seek with us. Like a scavenger hunt.” Oliver giggled as Koda opened the letter.

The letter read: To whoever is reading this. There are many things you should know about me so how about we play a game. You will learn more about me as we play. Then you will realize what to do. First go to the place where everything is sweet and aromas waft for miles. 

Koda pondered. “Maybe the kitchen? Does this place have a kitchen Oliver?” Koda asked. Oliver nodded. “Where is it?” Koda asked.

“This way I think.” Oliver said as she led Koda down several halls. When they arrived at their destination, Kda opened the door. They were greeted with a giant cake. Koda and Oliver were in awe at the masterful baked good. 

“Wow… That’s impressive.” Koda said and Oliver nodded in agreement. They noticed another note by two slices of cake. Both girls took the pieces and began eating them as Koda read the next note. 

Note #2: Hello again. Did you like the cake? I hope you did. I put a lot of time into it. It was one of my jobs. It was fun baking cakes. I guess the next place to go is the place of knowledge. Knowledge is power. 

Koda finished the cake and thought over the letter. “Knowledge is power? Is that the library?” she asked aloud. 

“Maybe. Come on let’s go.” Oliver said as they left the kitchen in search of the quickest route to the library. 

The two continued walking around and gathering information on the young ghost girl. They learned she held two jobs, one in a bakery and the other in a bookstore. She lived a long time ago, though they weren’t able to figure out how long ago. The girl never knew her parents and grew up on the streets. That part made Oliver cry. The girl knew and could see things that people couldn’t. Koda guessed some type of magic. They was one last place to go.

“Well, here we are in the basement.” Koda said pinching her nose, “Yuck, it stinks down here.”

“Well, we’ve almost completed this so it should be fine.” Oliver said as they rounded the corner to see an open cell door.

“Well, here goes nothing. I don’t have a good feeling about this at all.” Koda mumbled as she and Oliver stepped through the door.

The room smelled of something rotten and Koda had to cover her nose. Blood caked the small cell and stained the sheets and small bed. There were chains and shackles fused to the wall and many knives covered in blood lying around. 

“What is this!!!” Koda cried as she stared at the bloody mess. Oliver shook her head in shock.

“I don’t know Koda… I don’t know what happened!!! I’ve never seen this before!” Oliver whispered back in shock.

In the middle of the cell sat a small, wooden box. Cautiously, Koda picked it up and examined it. It was stained with blood just like everything else in the room, however, there seemed to be blood leaking from inside the box as well. Slowly, Koda opened the box and both girls let out a shriek.

Inside the box was an eye. Or what was once an eye. Koda shut the box and she and Oliver made a run for it. Once they had made it back to a room they considered ‘safe’, Oliver’s room, they readdressed themselves.

“What was that?!” Koda asked in a panic.

“I don’t know! It looked like an eye. Or an eye that was removed.” Oliver responded, equally panicked. 

“Wait, doesn’t that Ariel ghost wear a bandage over her face.” Koda asked, coming down from the panic attack.

“Ya, she wears one over her left eye, why?” Oliver responded calmly, also coming down from the panic.

“Could that be her eye?” Koda asked.

“Don’t be silly. That’s not her…” Oliver said before stopping to think. “Well… maybe it is her eye…” Oliver whispered.

“What have we learned about Ariel? We still don’t know how she died.” Koda reasoned.

“I think we may have.” Oliver said.

“Okay, there was a lot of blood, several knives, chains and what we assume was her eye. How does any of that make sense?” Koda asked.

“Because I was tortured to death…” a voice whispered from behind them and the two girls screamed.

* * *

“Well, that’s the last item.” Ruby said as he picked up a sword.

“Do you really believe this is going to help me. You cannot even help yourself.” Faith smirked. Ruby rolled his eyes at her. 

“Well, let’s get on with it.” Ruby said.

“Yes, let’s you weirdo.” Faith snarked, hands on her hips as if to mock Ruby.

Once again, Ruby rolled his eyes before beginning his ritual. He began to chant ancient words as the floor around Faith started to glow. The items they had collected lifted off the ground and created a magical barrier.

Faith was in shock but maintained her smirk as not to appear weak. Eventually, Ruby gave out and Faith came crashing to the floor, still as ghostly as ever. The items they had collected had vanished into thin air and nothing had happened. 

“Ha, I knew it wouldn’t work!” Faith laughed, “Now you have to play a game with me.”

Ruby gulped, “What type of game?”

“It’s a combination of hide and seek, tag and sparring. You get one weapon of choice as do I. We play hide and seek, you hide and I try to find you. Once I find you, you can make a break for it. You can move around all you want but if I see you, you’d better run!” Faith smirked, “Ready to play, Ruby.”

Ruby shook his head no only to receive a laugh in response. “Choose your weapon.” Faith called as she pulled out her trusty sword. Ruby pulled out his sword and the two blades touched.

“You have 100 seconds, get started.” Faith cackled as she began counting.

Ruby took off as fast as he could. He just hoped he could make it out alive.

* * *

“AHHH!!!” both Koda and Oliver screamed at the sound of Ariel’s voice.

“Where did you come from?” Koda asked while Oliver cried, “I told you not to scare me like that.”

“Sorry…” Ariel whispered and Oliver picked the young girl up and cuddled her.

“It’s okay, I forgive you.” Oliver smiled as she cuddled the girl.

“You were tortured to death. Why?” Koda asked Ariel.

“I don’t know?” Ariel responded sadly, “What I do know is the other mortal is about to die. You can choose to save him if we hurry.” Ariel whispered. 

Koda nodded, “Show me the way.” Ariel got up and beckoned Koda to follow her as they hurried off to save Ruby.

* * *

Ruby had run and run and run. Now he was hiding. He cursed himself for putting himself in a position of death.

“Where are you?” Faith’s voice was heard down the hall. Ruby held his breath and waited. “I know you’re there… And if you don’t start running, there will be no escape.” Faith chuckled. Ruby looked around and realized she was right. There was no place for him to escape. Summoning all of his courage, he jumped out and ran.

“Found you!” Faith cried, swinging her sword down on him.

Ruby blocked her sword with his causing the clang of metal on metal. Both swords ricocheted backwards and Ruby transformed his sword into a gun and shot at Faith. 

“Well, you’re more clever than I thought.” Faith laughed as she dodged the bullets. Ruby transformed his weapon into a sword once more.

“Ugh, stay away!” Ruby cried as he ran towards Faith and attacked her.

“Brave, attacking me like that.” Faith smiled as the swords clashed once again.

“However,” Faith called, “I’m stronger than you’ll ever be.” She gave a sick, twisted smile before plunging her sword into his chest, twisting it and pulling it out with a sharp movement. 

A scream of horror was heard her behind the two…

* * *

The group had been running and running down the hall. “Hurry… This way…” Ariel whispered as the group rounded another corner.

Koda and Oliver kept up with the ghost as they raced along behind her. Eventually they made it to the location just in time to see Faith stab Ruby. Koda screamed and Ruby’s lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

“That blade sucks the life of whoever it cuts. Don’t let it touch you.” Ariel said to Koda as Faith turned to address the group.

“Hello there. How are you all doing? I hope you’re doing well.” Faith laughed.

Oliver sighed and politely greeted Faith. Ariel said nothing. “What did you do…” Koda asked.

“Me? Oh, he said he could send me to the light. He wasn’t able to so we played a game. As you can see, I won the game.” Faith giggled. Koda gulped. “Oh don’t worry, I don’t hurt you… Yet…” Faith giggled.

“Why?” Koda asked.

“Well, I have a feeling… I think you may be able to help me…” Faith said. 

Koda shook her head, “Why do you think I’ll be able to help you?”

Faith shrugged her shoulders, “No idea, just have a feeling.”

Koda shrugged, “I mean, I have one idea… But… I don’t think you’ll like it…”

“I’ll try anything.” Faith shrugged, “I mean, if you mess up I’m going to kill you. If you run, I’ll hunt you down so this is your only option if you want to live.”

Koda extended her hand and gestured to Faith’s blade. Faith handed the blade to her and gave a sick smile. Koda looked towards Oliver who was holding and covering Ariel’s eyes. Oliver nodded before turning away from the two. Koda pulled the blade up and ran the blade through Faith. 

Faith screamed in pain as the little life she had was sucked out of her. Oliver was shaking and trying to ignore the screams of her fellow ghost. Ariel was tucked in her arms. Koda was covering her ears as well and looked as a ball of white engulfed Faith.

When the light subsided, Faith was radiating white light. She looked pure and happy. “Thank you… However… That hurt like hell!!!” Faith smirked and lightly punched Koda’s arm.

“Now all we have to do help Ariel and get you out of here.” Oliver smiled cheerfully. 

Koda laughed before the walls started shaking and spoke, “ Foolish ghosts! Foolish mortal!!! You can never escape these walls!!!”

“Change of plans, let’s get you out of here!” Oliver said as the group started running. 

As they ran, death traps and evil magic came from everywhere trying to end Koda’s life. They kept running from the third floor to the second and finally the first. Then they arrived at the entrance, Koda reached for the door only to pull her hand back in alarm as the door locked with dark magic.

“Now what?” Koda asked the group.

“I don’t know…” Oliver said. Koda looked to Faith.

“Beats me kid.” Faith responded. Koda sighed and looked at Ariel only to find she wasn’t with the group.

“Um guys… Where’s Ariel?” Koda asked. Both Faith and Oliver looked behind them to find her missing. Both shrugged, having no idea where she went.

A cry was heard from behind them and the group turned to look at the door. Ariel was standing will her hands pressed against the door, the door and her fighting for control. There was a white light emanating from her hands as the door’s evil gold diminished.

“Ariel! What are you doing! Stop, you’ll be trapped here forever!” Oliver cried. 

Ariel looked back at them and gave a sad smile before turning her attention back to the door. With a burst of magic, the doors flew open. “Hurry… Get out… Get to safety… Go Koda, go…” Ariel whispered.

Koda looked back towards the three ghosts before running out of the mansion. A loud shutting sound was heard behind her but she continued to run. Once she made it back to her boat she hopped in and began her journey back to the mainland.

_ She was free… Finally free…  _


	11. Epilogue

It had been five years since Koda had stepped foot in the haunted mansion. When she returned to normal life she realized all existance of her partners were erased. No one knew her friends existed or were even people. She held the memories of her good friends dear and she hopes to see them again in another life. Maybe in the next life...

Koda wrote about her experience and it wound up becoming a very popular book, not for it’s truth, but for it’s supernatural element. Koda didn’t mind as she was glad the story was out for the public to see. As long as the story would live on, she was proud and happy.

Koda became a professional writer, taking from her adventure in the mansion and writing supernatural books that were a complete hit with children. She was proud of what she did and was proud she made it out alive. Her books sparked a new generation of fandoms and readers alike.

However, she wondered what her ghost friends we up to. She, while only knowing them for about a day, missed them dearly.

* * *

Ariel was trapped in the mansion forever. However, because she used her magic to free Koda, she was able to keep the cursed house from killing anyone else. It turns out that the house was the reason the ghosts went violent and Ariel kept the magic under check.

Oliver kept true to her word and stayed with Ariel in the mansion. Faith had also decided not to leave Ariel’s side and the three of them were a happy family.

Many mortals visited the mansion and the ghosts welcomed them with open arms while Faith got in a scare or two. There were no longer deaths at the cursed mansion thanks to the mortal named Koda. 

The ghosts missed the young girl and hoped one day she’d return to see them.

* * *

It was the 5th anniversary of the day Koda stepped foot into the mansion. The ghosts were throwing themselves a small party in her honor and celebration. As they were partying, a knock was heard and the door opened.

_ “Hey, anyone there? I didn’t miss the party did I? I mean, who’s afraid of a few ghosts?” Koda’s cheerful voice sang through the mansion.  _


End file.
